MLoveizm Supports Empowers and Inspires Los Angeles Artists
South Central Los Angeles, known for it’s notorious mentions in rap songs, seedy motels and abandoned houses, gang wars and riots, has a population of sickness and disease, violence, drug and human trafficking and it all starts with a corrupted mindset. MLoveizm stands as a beacon of light to reach those who feel suppressed, stifled and limited in their community through the medium of art. Art transcends demographics through a deep seeded sense of relatability in life experiences, thought processes that strikes a nerve to take action. Our first big goal is to facilitate a creative environment where Artists can learn through internships, business development/entrepreneurship, workshops, artist showcases, and jobs through future publications like MLoveizm magazine, upcoming book projects, film documentaries, art inspiration field trips and more for local Artists as well as those who travel to South Central to grow and learn. The jobs would be mainly artistic such as filming, photographing, editing, lighting, writing, painting, fabricating, designing, styling, researching and more. We would also like to facilitate business minded individuals that understand and appreciate the arts as the oil to our engine and further teach in our workshops as well. We take a deep interest in character building emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Our hopes is to meet the Artist where they are at in their life and cultivate the greatness within through collaboration, education, practical skill and business building. We want the Artist to exude confidence just as much as their work does. From starting off as Artists, growing as entrepreneurs and innovators we know what it is like to gain ground on making dreams become reality and bringing up as many Artists and art supporters as possible in the process.
What are some of your organization’s most important achievements to date?
From working, guiding, promoting, encouraging and teaching artists, we have seen them go on to attain more jobs as entrepreneurs, build their own brands, manage their creative and business time, and develop confidence in heart and mind. We have impacted Artists in knowledge, perspective, understanding and wisdom in their personal life as well as provoked them to dig deeper and see meaning in art as well as create depth in their own work. We are pleased to see our imprint on individuals as they go on to transform the world in positive sustainable ways.
Please identify any partners or collaborators who will work with you on this project.
MLoveizm is ran by the founders/Artists Melissa Leslie-Quinones and Daniel Quinones. Currently we work with Alleyne Connect, Arianna Sikorski and two interns. We hope to open the opportunities with funding.
Please explain how you will evaluate your project. How will you measure success?
We recently have other like-minded individuals that are catching the vision and supporting the heartbeat. We currently are working on demographic and impact spreads from past events and online analytics. We have rose from 3 people showing up to our Art Day events in 2010 to around 15-30 currently and growing. We are now streamlining Art Day to once a month and Workshops starting this April bi-monthly. We hope to have at least 15 or more enroll per Workshop and to grow from there. Currently we have 2 interns working twice a week with more inquiries to volunteer. We hope to have 5 or more for part-time positions during business hours. We also hope to give jobs for booking/scheduling and logistics, event planners, business writers, public relations, filming, editing, photographing, journalism, animators, illustrators, nutritionists and botanists. We have already witnessed the benefits artists are experiencing from MLoveizm's TV interviews opening doors for Artists to use them as a media resume. We have also seen interns create their own businesses and branding to further their dreams. We have spoken with Artists who say their confidence has increased and others say they feel like it's a family. On countless occasions, those who come in our doors are immediately inspired and feel like creating even if they're not artists themselves. Collectively we have over 25,000 followers on social sites alone and have seen our MLoveizm page reach from 2,300 to over 9,100 in the past 2 months. Our reach is core to LA but easily pours over into a worldwide interest with a growing curiosity in Brazil, United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy and more. Although some would say South Central is hopeless, we see something else here, we see the potential. Our core team has shown great personal, technical and business growth just by our meetings alone.
How will your project benefit Los Angeles?
MLoveizm Magazine facilitates opportunity to build character, expand thought processes, develop business mindsets and think on a deeper level of production in all areas of art to create movement through value and purpose. We focus on the end goal in order to navigate through the lasting importance of their mission by asking “Will it help others?” We do this by connecting, collaborating, encouraging, and taking practical steps forward in personal and business identity, social networking and creating opportunities to become involved in group projects and production that not only create training but jobs and outreach to places beyond South Central’s four walls. We believe art can create revolutions, change minds, touch hearts and provoke action. MLoveizm hopes to cultivate Artists that create art that will do just that. The ripple effect will be endless and to everyone’s benefit not only in LA but everywhere. We hope it starts in LA.
What would success look like in the year 2050 regarding your indicator?
In 2050 there will be more opportunities for artists in South Central to be encouraged by the satisfaction of working in the arts and doing what they love. This will place confidence in the Artist and their families..It will also nurture them to be able to teach others skills and knowledge to create a ripple effect with art that can change the landscape not only in public venues but in and around homes and most importantly in the hearts of our Los Angeles tribe. There will be more opportunities for individuals to experience art and the benefits it creates by those it touches to think differently, speak accordingly and act in faith of future change. We hope to have attained a large building where everything we do can be pushed to greater levels. The building would facilitate art shows, workshops, art days, film productions, film screenings, offices and our own MLoveLife café where we would also make healthy juices, smoothies and more. The café would also serve as a place to learn about health in body, mind and spirit. By then we hope to have had at least 18 books published, at least 72 magazines published, several documentaries created, 9 world tours, MLoveizm hubs in several major art cities and secure 10-20 jobs in each hub for artists and business professionals. We also hope the numbers for interns and volunteers to increase as well! We are currently in the process of gaining our 501c as well!